Glossary
HODL
Holding an asset long-term through volatility instead of selling on every dip.
HODL started as a typo for 'hold' and became crypto's word for refusing to sell through volatility. The idea is that short-term price is noise and long-term adoption is the actual bet.
It works when the asset survives. It destroys people when the asset is a token that never recovers. Holding through a drawdown in Bitcoin is a different decision from holding through one in a project with no users.
Related terms
Airdrop
Free tokens distributed to wallet addresses, usually to reward early users of a protocol.
AMM
Automated Market Maker — a protocol that prices assets with a formula instead of an order book.
APR vs APY
APR is the yearly rate without compounding; APY includes compounding and is always higher.
ATH
All-Time High — the highest price an asset has ever traded at.
Bear Market
A prolonged decline, conventionally 20% or more from recent highs.
Bull Market
A prolonged rise driven by new demand, easy credit and rising confidence.